


Two Can Play

by SVU_Addict



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M, Flirting, Flirty Barba, Mentions of Rape, Rape Mentions, Slow Burn, Terry loves love, Touching, i love them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2019-03-12 06:01:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13541232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SVU_Addict/pseuds/SVU_Addict
Summary: Barba decides enough is enough and begins a flirting game with Olivia. She doesn't reciprocate...until she does.





	Two Can Play

“You’re telling me there’s literally nothing we can get on this guy?”

Olivia rolled her eyes at Barba’s exasperated tone, leaning forward in her chair and resting her hands on her desk, folded. “I wish we had something else to give you. He’s good; no DNA, no eyewitnesses, and enough charm and sociopathy to fool the jury into thinking he’s innocent. Not to mention, the complaining witness has retracted 3 times since he threatened her. We’ve got nothing.”

“I hate this,” Rafael muttered, shutting her office door with a little more force than necessary, flinging himself into the chair opposite her and leaning back into it. He rested his head in one hand. “I hate this guy.”

“So do we, Rafa,” she whispered, taking her glasses off of her head and placing them on her desk beside the mountains of paperwork she’d accrued over her leave. “I wish there was more that we could do. We’re going to keep trying to find something; fingerprints, touch DNA, anything.” She furrowed her brow slightly when she saw how upset he was. “You’re not usually this affected. You alright?”

“It’s just a tough case,” he muttered, leaning forward. “But we’ll get him. We always do. For now, keep him in for the drug possession, then as soon as you find something else, let me know.”

Olivia opened her laptop and positioned her glasses back on her nose. “I still have to go through his social media, if you want to stay for a bit,” she said softly as he started to get up.

“Alright,” he said, smiling slightly and walking over to the side of her desk. “What accounts do you have left?”

“Just his Facebook,” she replied, scrolling through the posts slowly and resting her other hand on the left corner of her desk. Barba watched her as her eyes scanned the screen, listening while her fingers tapped a rhythm on the wood as she worked. The way her face squinted in concentration made him smile lightly. She was always so dedicated, so attentive to every detail. She would do anything in her power to get a guilty man behind bars; she would bend the rules, twist some arms, and pull every string she could to get what she needed. She was a powerhouse of a woman, and it drove him crazy.

He’d been trying to ask her to dinner for months, and she’d, of course, rejected him. He understood; she had a kid, a job, a life outside of it. He knew she wasn’t ready for a new relationship, not after Tucker, not after Cassidy. Still, something nagged him. He’d always been attracted to her, but it was more than that; he cared for her, more than he often liked to admit. She was a force to be reckoned with, and after Noah’s abduction, he’d done everything he could to be there for her. He’d visited her and helped with Noah, learned his stuffed animals’ names, and brought her a couple bottles of a cabernet he learned she liked. She drove him crazy, but she also made him domestic, which he’d despised at first, but now…he wasn’t so sure he would want it any other way. He wanted for them to be something more, but he knew she wouldn’t make a move. An idea popped into his head as he thought of this, and against his better judgment, he followed it through.

“Anything yet?” he murmured, leaning over her shoulder to scan the posts along with her, decreasing the distance between them slightly. He heard Olivia huff out a breath as he did so.

“Hold on,” she whispered, leaning back in her chair and turning the laptop screen toward him and clapping her hands together. “He posted a status the other night…he tagged a restaurant he was on the night of the rape. There goes his alibi; it was only 12 minutes before the attack, and the place is minutes from the scene.”

“Thank God for the digital age,” Rafael murmured, patting her on the back gently and squeezing her shoulder. “Well done, Liv. I’ll arraign him on Monday, as long as our witness can testify,” he said, smiling at her. “It’s not much, but it’s enough for me.”

As he squeezed her shoulder, he felt Olivia tense up and relax in seconds, and watched her lips curve into a surprised smirk. He had worried at first that he’d gone too far in testing the waters, but when he saw her smile he felt immediate relief.

“Thank you, Rafa,” she replied, her tone softer. She looked up at him and placed her glasses on the top of her head again. She checked her watch briefly and looked back up at him. “It’s 9 o’ clock and I’m completely exhausted,” she muttered, leaning back and closing her eyes. “Thank God Noah is with Lucy’s mom for the weekend. I swear she loves him like a grandson.”

“Can you blame her?” Rafael replied, chuckling slightly. ”Hell, even _I_ love Noah. Me. The man who held him once like he was a bomb about to explode. Noah has that effect.”

He watched Olivia’s face light up. “Love him, huh? Can’t believe Rafael Barba of all people actually has a fondness for my son,” she said coyly, though he knew she was touched by the sentiment.

“Yes, well, you raised him well,” he chuckled. “He’s smart, he’s inquisitive, and apparently, he’s a rookie cop. Remember the prison for Eddie?”

“You still don’t trust him, do you?”

“How else could the ice cream have disappeared?”

Olivia laughed heartily at that, leaning forward in Barba’s direction. She paused for a moment and looked him in the eyes. “Sidebar, Counselor?”

Barba smirked. “I’d love nothing more, Lieutenant.”

 

 

Weeks later, he continued his game with her, and he enjoyed every minute of it. He usually waited until everything was quiet; when they were on a case, both of them were too stressed to even think, let alone speak about anything else. Occasionally he’d have a moment with her in her office to discuss evidence they’d acquired, or time to take her to the bodega down the street for coffee to discuss testimony when she’d stayed at the office all night. He enjoyed the flirting, but he enjoyed the time they spent together much more. Just being in the same room with her always made him feel more confident, grounded. She had the uncanny ability to make his walls crumble. It scared him but in the best ways possible. Watching her reactions to his advances made it all worth it. He held her hand once across the table when she teared up thinking about Noah and Sheila, and she’d smiled in the most beautiful way he’d ever seen. Once when he’d patted her on the back after a case, he’d felt her shiver briefly and his heart skipped at least three beats. A few times when he’d rolled his sleeves up, he’d watched her eyes trail away from his face to watch, and it always egged him on.

Now, he was on his way to the squad room to let her know the grand jury had indicted a serial rapist.

“Liv,” he said when he saw her leaned over Amanda’s desk, hair pulled up into a clip. She turned and smiled slightly before she walked over to him.

“Hey, Rafael,” she sighed. “How’d the grand jury go?”

“Got the indictment,” he said proudly, puffing out his chest slightly and tightening his grip on his briefcase. “It’s a start. And it’s thanks to you,” he said, walking closer. “If you hadn’t gotten that girl’s testimony, we’d have nothing.”

“And you got the indictment, so good on you,” she congratulated him, putting a hand on his shoulder briefly. He was surprised at that; she hadn’t been reciprocating the comments or the touches, and now that she was, he was slightly taken aback. She’d reacted to his advances but hadn’t so much as looked at him the wrong way the whole time he’d been doing it.

“Thank you,” he whispered, clearing his throat and trying to forget the way her hand curled around his shoulder and sent shocks through him. He was certainly done for when it came to her.

Liv nodded her head curtly and turned to walk away but stopped and turned on her heel mid-step. Rafael was puzzled for a second, but his face went red and his mind went swirling when she said what she did next.

“You wore that tie because you know I like it,” she murmured softly, sticking her hands in her pockets and walking away from him after she said, “Well, Counselor…it’s working.”


End file.
